Josey Puliyenthuruthel: Music upgraded

GIZMO GALLERY

Last week I had two memorable experiences "" I rode a friend's Harley Davidson and I got to use Apple's iPod MP3 player.

Since a 1200-cc Harley is not exactly a personal technology gadget or service, I'll restrict today's review to the iPod. Apple launched its fourth generation iPod early in August in India along with the iPod mini.

For those who came in late, the iPod is Apple's award-winning MP3 player that won a huge fan following when it was unveiled by marketer extraordinaire Steve Jobs two years back.

Apple had taken a miniature hard disk and built around it a remarkable design and performance. The product was so ahead of its peers in ease of use and performance that the company could charge a bomb for it and yet find it difficult to meet demand. In the first quarter of this year, Apple shipped about 800,000 iPods.

Clubbed with its iTunes service (you could download legal music for a shade less than $ 1 a track), the iPod could easily rank among the top five products and service offerings of the decade.

iTunes has sold over 70 million MP3 tracks in its first year and is turning in a neat profit. The service, together with the iPod being made compatible with Windows, has made the iPod extremely covetable and helped sales overtake that of computers made by Apple.

This neat little gizmo comes in two models: the iPod and the iPod Mini. The iPod Mini is available with 4GB of storage and comes in a bunch of different colours.

The iPod, on the other hand, sticks to its puritan white (that can get dirty easily) and has three models: with 15GB, 20GB and 40GB storage. To put that in perspective, the iPod mini can store up to 1,000 songs; the 15GB iPod 3,700 songs; 20GB 5,000 songs; and the 40GB model about 10,000 songs.

I reviewed the iPod 40GB model that weighs in a little more than 175 grams and displaces 4.1'' by 2.4'' by 0.73''. With such dimensions, it is perhaps bulkier than other flash memory-based MP3 players and makes it a tad too heavy to clip to your track pants or jogging shorts. The iPod mini that is 40 per cent lighter and has an armband accessory may be a better option for the more fitness-minded.

The prettiest feature of the iPod is its "touch wheel" "" the circular equivalent of a touch pad widely included in laptops. The touch wheel allows users to increase or decrease volume, scroll tracks on the iPod and includes forward, back, play/ pause and menu quadrants to navigate through the tracks or menu.

The new iPod models, including the Mini, charge from the USB connector as well as from its power plug and claim upto 12 hours of battery life, which I found way too overrated.

This was perhaps because I was reviewing a used iPod that perhaps has run through one too many battery charge cycles. Battery life, incidentally, was one big problem with the first generation iPod; an issue Apple says has been addressed in contemporary models.

The sound quality of the iPod is very impressive and can help shut out the loudest of ambient traffic. Songs came though sharp and clear, even at high volumes. One clever menu option on the new iPods is the "Shuffle songs" entry.

This allows you to easily shuffle-play whatever songs or playlists you have selected without actually returning to the menu each time a track plays out. The result is that you get to listen to all your favourite songs, but don't know what order they will be played "" just that delectable amount of tease-and-play, if you may.

The iPod is fitted with a 1.7" backlit LCD that displays artist and song info. The display also comes in handy when displaying contact information that can be synched "" along with calendar data directly from MS Outlook "" from a computer. Other features include an alarm clock and "" to make that wait for a delayed plane or train easy "" four preloaded games.

So, what gives? The price. The iPod Mini starts at Rs 20,500, the 20GB model sets you back by Rs 22,500 and the top-end 40 GB machine retails at Rs 27,400. These price tags in India are 40 per cent to nearly double what the same models will cost in, say, the US and are at these levels due to high import duties and, perhaps, the lower numbers that are expected to sell in India.

(The writer can be reached at josey@vsnl.net)